Travelling Simply

Travel recommendations, ideas and observations from two simple travellers

Author: Smita (Page 13 of 17)

Why you will love travelling in Europe in the summer if you enjoy music and culture!

25/09/2018 / / 1 Comment

Truly getting to know a new country includes meeting new people, sampling new food, visiting the sights and treasures unique and dear to that country and immersing ourselves in their art and culture.

  • Big Band in Plaza Mayor, Madrid
    An evening at a Big Band performance in Madrid’s main square

In a tour group, the itinerary is sure to include pre-organised events to showcase the country’s uniqueness – a traditional performance over a meal of local dishes, a private concert in a castle for your group, or a guided visit to the theatre or art gallery. We’ve attended and enjoyed many during our travels.

We prefer to travel independently these days,  by-pass the ticket vendors selling tickets to the opera or a music show, and instead join the locals in their town’s piazzas, plazas and placas or sit in on a classical concert in a historic building where we can just wander in to take a seat.

 A European Town square is a centre for gathering – a place to meet, eat, drink and enjoy entertainment. In winter, some will transform into mesmerising night markets but it is in summer where these town squares are the most vibrant.

  • Medieval parade in Arezzo
    Medieval parade in Arezzo, Italy
  • Human towers
    Sunday afternoon entertainment in Barcelona

Preferring to travel to Europe during their summer, we have had the opportunity to enjoy this vibrancy. In almost every major town or city, stages will appear and buskers will hold their position around town squares.

Performances are varied, but all are professional and first class in quality. Anyone can attend, entrance is free, there are no queues, and you don’t have to dress up! Often, a number of these performances are on at the same time and you can wander between them.

We’ve stumbled unexpectedly across many a performance:

  1. On an evening stroll in Madrid, we came across a Big Band concert in Plaza Mayor and were entertained for almost two hours.
  2. On an afternoon walk down La Ramblas in Barcelona, we veered into a square and into the middle of a human tower competition.
  3. Instead of joining the others in the tourist hub of Monastiraki in Athens, we joined locals at an outdoor music concert featuring traditional Greek music and performances.
  4. As tourists queued to enter the opera in Vienna, we walked across the road to join the large crowd at the annual film festival in front of the Town Hall.
  5. Enjoyed a professional fashion show in the enchanting hilltop town of Paola on our drive back to Rome from Sicily.
  6. On the Old City walls of Treviso, we enjoyed two nights of incredible entertainment, Nina Zilli who represented Italy in the 2012 Eurovision performed one night and the Beuna Vista Social Club performed on the next evening. The atmosphere was electric!
  7. Wandering along 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, we stopped to listen to three brothers showcasing their music right at the end of the street. They are outstanding musicians who tour the US performing at schools and small venues and enjoy busking so much that their mother drives them the one hour to come down to Santa Monica every Saturday and then waits to take them home again.
  8. Staying a few days in the Tuscan town of Arezzo, we enjoyed the annual jousting competition held every night complete with a medieval parade through the streets of the town.
  9. In Seville, we wandered into an outdoor courtyard in a small Palais to join a small audience and listened to a spectacular classical piano concert.
  10. Recently, in Prague all the seats were taken by the time we arrived in Old Town Square, so we joined locals and other travellers like ourselves to sit on the kerbside to enjoy an evening of jazz.

A recommendation, next time you are travelling in Europe during the summer, take a peek in the town square or if like us, you decide on using apartment accommodation, ask your host.

  • Summer Festival in Treviso
    Beuna Vista Social Club playing at the Summer Festival in Treviso, Italy

    On the way to the cemetery…

    26/08/2018 / / 1 Comment

    One of the things we love about travelling simply is meeting the people of the countries we visit. Travelling independently provides numerous opportunities to converse with locals, hear about their lives, their story, learn something new about their country and practice speaking their language.

    An added benefit is arranging your own travel itinerary. We like to detour from mainstream tourist attractions to find our own small attractions and make the visit more memorable.

    • tiber river

    We had taken a morning walk along the Tiber River in Rome, through the Rose Garden to take a peep through the keyhole on the Aventine Hill and decided to continue on to the Protestant Cemetery which is only a few kilometres from the Colosseum. We had found our way there on a previous visit and were keen to go back to the graveyard.

    Wandering down the Hill, dazzled by the magnificent view through the keyhole (it was a clear, sunny morning and the view was magnificent), we became disorientated and wondered if we were going the right way. We are old hands in Rome and had come out without our map!

    It is early and the streets are deserted. We stand at the fork of the road pondering on whether we need to turn left or right when we spot a man leisurely strolling down the hill puffing on his pipe, a beautiful golden retriever in tow.

    We approach. He looks at us amusingly as we try our hand at asking him in Italian if we are going the right way. He stuns us with his reply. Not only is it in perfect English, but it is his accent which raises our curiosity!

    None of us are in a hurry. We stand on the street corner as he takes pleasure in telling the story of his life. It is not extraordinary, an Italian, now retired who studied, lived and work in our home town, has children who live in our country which he visits every year but loves the life in Italy. It turns out that we have more in common than we thought.

    Half an hour later he walks down the hill with us, tells us we are heading in the right direction as we part ways. The cemetery is less than five minutes away.

    We spend an hour meandering through the cemetery stopping at the gravestones to read and reflect on the lives of the non-Catholic who lived and died here. The cemetery was established in the early 1700’s so there is a lot of history here on the life of the expatriate community in Italy. We only walk through a small section to ensure we come back again on a future visit.

    Our visit is not complete without visiting a special part of the cemetery set a little aside in a tranquil garden, the final resting places of the British poets Keats and Shelley.

    A lovely morning spent away from the chaos of Rome making new memories with a stranger.

    • keats tombstone
      Tombstone of John Keats

    Footnote: You’ll find the Protestant Cemetery next to the Pyramid of Caius Cestius. The entrance is tucked away on Via Caio Cestio. Entrance is free, however, donations for the upkeep of the cemetery are accepted through a donation box at the entrance.

    How to see more of Paris for free

    14/07/2018 / / 3 Comments

    Pascal joined us at our pre-arranged meeting place right on time.

    We had arrived a little earlier which gave us time to relax on the steps of the Pantheon before meeting Pascal in the lobby of City Hall. It gave us time to catch our breath after arriving in Paris earlier in the morning.

    Unable to check into our accommodation until later in the day, we had decided to make the most of the time in the city by seeing part of the city through the eyes of a local Greeter.

    Pascal had a wonderful afternoon of sightseeing arranged for us. There was no sign of the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame in sight. Instead, we padded along the backstreets of the 5th District and Sorbonne, ducking into gateways and courtyards to have a look at the real life of Paris. Pascal led us off the beaten path into the spectacular buildings such as an abbey with its breathtaking interior which is now a school. How fortunate and inspiring for the lucky scholars who have the privilege to learn in this environment!

    • school in paris
      The beautiful school courtyard

    We converse as we walk. Pascal provides enough historical background to encourage questions. He is knowledgeable and keeps us interested. We share tidbits of our lives with each other.

    Pascal had put thought into planning our afternoon. It was tailormade for us.

    The finale for the day reminded us of how much time Pascal had taken to make our Greeter tour unique. In earlier correspondence, he had questioned our interests and tactfully asked about our work and I had mentioned that He worked in the legal field.

    It was getting late as Pascal hurried us through the gates of the courthouse, through security to wander through the corridors and halls of this amazing building.

    • corridors of paris courthouse
      The corridors of the courthouse

    Leading us up the rather grand staircase to the first floor we steal quietly into a courtroom session.

    There is more. We follow Pascal up another flight of stairs arriving at the rooms of the Law Society. These rooms are not open to the public, however, Pascal explains that He has an interest in the law and the office staff happily oblige and show us around.

    The highlight, entering the Grand Office of the President! Such grandeur and history. It was an unexpected treat.

    • law-society
      The boardroom of the Law Society

    And so, it is a tired and weary but extremely happy couple of simple travellers who thank Pascal. He reluctantly accepts our gift as a token of our appreciation for his time and thoughtfulness. He reminds us that he is going away for a couple of weeks and will be back in Paris well before we arrive back in Paris after our driving holiday. There is so much more to see! And, that doesn’t include the popular tourist attractions!

    • arches

    Global Greeters – see a city with a local!

    24/06/2018 / / 5 Comments

    Interested in seeing more than the tourist highlights of a city, then see it with a local “Greeter”.

    Greeters are, more often than not, local citizens who have lived in their city for a while, and some even their whole lives. They know every nook and cranny of their city, especially unique places and hidden gems of which tourists are unaware. You won’t be sharing space with the crowds!

    We have had the pleasure of “Greeters” showing us part of their city in New York, London, France, Munich and Vienna to date. It’s an opportunity to meet and converse with friendly people, to learn about life in the city from a local perspective and hear about why they love living in their city. They have been enriching and pleasurable experiences. We always try to plan one or two during our travels if they are available.

    The Greeter system is free. You do not pay a Greeter. Greeters volunteer their time at no charge because they are passionate about sharing their city with the rest of the world. Greeters will guide a group of up to six people.

    We have been lucky to have been sole clients on our Greeter tours to date. Our enthusiastic guides have gone beyond the call of duty and created bespoke walking tours based on our interests.

    Want to know more about our Greeter experience? Feel free to send us your question/s here.

    If you’d like to find a book your own Greeter experience, have a look, visit the Global Greeter Network website.

    Why we love to drive. Are you ready to join us on the journey?

    19/06/2018 / / 4 Comments

    Preparations for our next travel and driving adventure are almost complete.

    Setting our plan some months ago, we researched our destinations and thought we had come up with a pretty good driving route. We made sure our driving days would be leisurely and not too long. Most importantly, we must arrive at our destination before nightfall.

    Over the months we have dedicated a great deal of time to read about our destinations, thought a little more about where we would like to dedicate more time (a hard decision to make as we would like to stay a little longer everywhere) and have made tweaks to our driving route. Our plan is now firm.

    All this time and effort and we haven’t taken off yet! We could just sit back and enjoy the journey gazing through a coach or train window or let a tour operator determine our itinerary.

    • Pretty Calabrian village
      Lunch stop: a pretty Calabrian village

    Here are 10 reasons why we choose to self-drive:

    1. We enjoy learning about where we are travelling to and when tailoring our own itinerary, we learn much more about everywhere we are going to.
    2. We decide when to leave. Unless it’s going to be a long driving day, we can still enjoy a morning walk to have a last look around the city or town before we hit the road. There is no 7am bags outside the hotel room, breakfast and on the coach at 8am for us.
    3. The backroads are more interesting to drive along than aiming to get from point A to B on a busy motorway. Just driving through little villages which lie off the beaten track can be enlightening.
    4. We get to pick where to stop for a coffee or lunch break. There are so many beautiful towns to pass through when we take the “toll-free” route. No stopping at a busy service area on the side of a motorway to line up at the restrooms, grab a quick bite to eat and gulp down a drink for us.
    5. There is always the opportunity for unplanned and spontaneous diversions. Sometimes someone we’ve met in the previous town has recommended an attraction devoid of tourists. How often we see something from the road then turn off the road to have a look.
    6. We love to turn on the radio and listen to local music. It’s an opportunity to move out of our comfort zone and listen to something new even if we can’t understand a word.
    7. We can randomly stop at the side of the road to enjoy a stunning view or taste grapes straight off the grapevine – the vineyards are often not fenced off!
    8. There’s no drifting off to sleep by the gentle roll of a coach or the clacking of a train on the tracks. We’re wide awake, there is so much to see.
    9. We have the pleasure of interacting with local people; even if it’s just to see the fear in their eyes when they realise you are unused to driving on the wrong side of the road. A smile, nod and a wave are sometimes all it takes.
    10. We get to drive a brand new car – a make which we have no intention to buy at home.

    And so, for us, the first day on the road will be a little daunting. We’ll have to familiarise ourselves with driving on the “wrong” side of the road again. There is no doubt, we will be the slowest car in the “slow” lane. And, as much as we would like to, we won’t always be able to reach our destinations by the back roads.

    We’ll get used to drivers honking their car horns at us! But we know that, unlike our drivers at home who honk and gesticulate loudly to show their displeasure when a driver makes an unintentional driving error, their European counterparts are just letting us know that they are coming up behind us ready to overtake. It’s not road rage, it’s part of the driving culture in Europe. Honk honk. “Hi, it’s Tony. I’m just about to overtake you on this blind corner. Wish me luck!”

    And, even though we will have instructed our trusty GPS to avoid “no vehicle” and inner-city congestion charge zones, we’ll still somehow end up driving straight down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace!

    • arcdetriumph
      Driving yourself means you can drive around the Arc de Triumph as many times as you want!

    Driving yourself means you can drive around the Arc de Triumph as many times as you want!

    Travel is an adventure. We could just sit back and let someone else do the driving but there is no adventure in that!

    We’ll be sharing our journey on Facebook and Instagram if you’d like to join us on our driving adventure. Follow us via the links above to make sure you don’t miss our “snap of the day” as we explore parts of eastern Europe.

    • A brand new car!
      A brand new car!

    One more thing …

    If you’re travelling in Europe, look out for cars with the distinctive pink numberplate. They are travellers like us who lease their vehicle. More info on why and our preferred supplier here. We hope to see you on one of the many spectacular backroads in Europe.

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